To think flexibly is to accept another way other than your own way. I was stubborn in my way of determining the oxidation numbers in a compound. On the oxidation number quiz I thought it was to find the total for each element and not for a single atom. And I could not fathom why until I did the four page correction.
What I discovered was that my way of doing it could cause errors
For example:
(NH4)2 I would do it as
N2 ? + H8 8+ =1+
As shown above, I multiplied H4 by 2 to get the total hydrogens and the total charge should equal 2+ not 1+ and I omitted that there was two NH4 and not 1 so it caused a confusion that N was 7-
But if I did it just using the simple way, N ? + H4 4+ = 1+ then N would be 3- and while the net of 2+ would be easier to see.
What I discovered was that my way of doing it could cause errors
For example:
(NH4)2 I would do it as
N2 ? + H8 8+ =1+
As shown above, I multiplied H4 by 2 to get the total hydrogens and the total charge should equal 2+ not 1+ and I omitted that there was two NH4 and not 1 so it caused a confusion that N was 7-
But if I did it just using the simple way, N ? + H4 4+ = 1+ then N would be 3- and while the net of 2+ would be easier to see.